


Healing

by WitherStorm1N



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Animal Shelter, Animals, Bad Parent Talia al Ghul, Cookies, Damian Wayne Feels, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Damian Wayne's Animals, Damian Wayne-centric, Fluff and Angst, Gratuitous Hot Chocolate, Hot Chocolate, Hurt Damian Wayne, Major Character Injury, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, dami being cute, mentions of animal abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:34:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26395726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WitherStorm1N/pseuds/WitherStorm1N
Summary: Damian never told anybody what it was like growing up with the League of Shadows.Damian never told anybody about his nightmares.Damian never expected a solo fight against the Joker to end like this.Featuring Batfam love, and a smol child that needs love. Also, lots of animals. Lots and lots of animals.
Relationships: Batfamily Members & Damian Wayne, Damian Wayne & Original Female Character(s), Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne
Comments: 14
Kudos: 150





	1. Chapter 1

The members of the Wayne family all get nightmares. Some get them more often than the others. Some have nightmares more often than others. Some have nightmares that are more severe than the others. But the one thing they share in common is that they all have nightmares.

Bruce dreams of the death of his parents. Of the gunshot, of the pearls scattering across the dim alleyway.

Dick dreams of falling. Of his handhold slipping, of falling, surrounded by the cries of terror from his parents.

Jason dreams of his death. Of the repeated slam of crowbar into flesh, of that moment of blinding heat and the massive boom.

Tim dreams of all the kids that he's tried to save. Of holding them, while the light leaves their eyes. Of holding them as they fall still and cold.

And Damian? Well, Damian dreams of his mother.

_“You stupid boy!”_

_“Do better!”_

_“You’ll never be god enough for the house of Al Ghul!”_

_“I hate you!”_

_“That’s not good enough!”_

_“You’ll never be good enough!”_

_“I wish you were never born!”_

_“Son? You think I consider you my son? I will NEVER consider you my son. You were an experiment, and that experiment FAILED.”_

~*~

Damian sat up, gasping, the words of his mother echoing through his head. He hadn’t told anyone about what Mo- no, TALIA had said to him. How she had treated him.

_“An experiment! That’s all you’ll ever be!”_

Talia’s voice echoed in his mind, as a tear leaked from his eye. He quickly wiped it away.

_“An Al Ghul does not cry!”_

Damian stood up abruptly, and made his way down to the Batcave. Changing quickly and efficiently, he dressed in his Robin gear, before riding out on his motorcycle. Driving through the streets, flipping across the roofs, stopping crimes, doing good – that was what he did after a nightmare. That was what he did to drive the constant stream of criticism and insults, the constant barrage of _not good enough, never good enough_ from taking over. It was how he stayed sane.

~*~

“SOMEBODY, HELP! PLEASE! SOMEBODY, PLEASE, HELP ME!” A woman cried in terror, her voice bouncing off the damp walls of buildings, splitting the peacefulness of the calm night air. Damian acted immediately, sprinting to find a woman being mugged. He flipped down, taking out the villain easily. But before he could comfort the woman, he heard laughter, and the night erupted in the screams of horrified people. Damian swore under his breath as he sprinted off, attempting to find the source. No time to call for backup, all that mattered was saving lives.

When Damian reached the scene, it was worse than he had thought. The Joker was shooting people at random, while laughing madly, as his henchmen looted the buildings along the street, dragging terrified people out of the buildings where they had attempted to hide from the massacre taking place outside. Without thinking, Damian launched himself from the roof, and kicked Joker in the face. Joker staggered back, a hand coming to where a stream of blood trickled out of his nose. Then, Joker threw his head back, and cackled.

“Boy Blunder, how nice of you to come join the party! Where’s Batsy?” Joker chirped, swinging his gun around and pointing it at the shadows surrounding them at random.

“Joker! Surrender now, or suffer!” Damian shouted harshly, ignoring the question.

“Now, now. Aren’t you out past your bedtime?” Joker pondered, before his expression hardened, and he began to shoot at Damian. Damian dodged as best he could, but one of the bullets hit his right arm, just above the elbow.

_“Not good enough, not good enough, not good enough!”_

Talia’s voice screamed in his mind, a constant stream of _not good enough_ , distracting Damian. He was hit again, on the same arm, just above his wrist. Damian couldn’t hold back a choked scream as blood sprayed from the wounds, drenching his entire arm in warm, sticky blood. He tried to retreat, but one of Joker’s henchmen had snuck up behind him. The burly man grabbed him roughly, and tied him up, before dragging him over to the Joker, who was cackling madly.

_“Failure, failure, FAILURE!”_

Damian couldn’t drown out the constant noise in his head. He couldn’t. He could barely even struggle as the Joker kicked him in the face, breaking his nose with a crack. All that Damian could focus on were his memories, the memories of Talia screaming at him, Ra’s ‘sparring’ with him, having to stitch up his own wounds without making a sound, crying himself to sleep, and being afraid, so, so, afraid. Lost in his memories, he had tuned out what was happening, until he was roughly dragged back to the present by an explosion of pain in his right arm,

Damian opened his eyes, gasping as he struggled not to sob from the pain, and almost puked at the sight of his arm. His arm was drenched in blood, and stuck out at a funny angle, with bone poking through the skin grotesquely.

“Poor Boy Blunder,” Joker said with fake sympathy. “All alone, with nobody to come save you. We’re gonna have such fun!”

“Fuck… Off.” Damian hissed through gritted teeth, spitting out blood. The Joker just cackled, and slammed his crowbar down on Damian’s arm. And then he did it again. And again. Over, and over, until finally, blessedly, he grew bored.

“You are BORING tonight, Boy Blunder!” Joker whined, nudging him with his foot. Damian bit back a cry of pain.

“Is my suffering not enough fun for you, bastard?” Damian managed to ask.

“Oh, silly boy!” The Joker said, pouting. “This is nothing compared to my plans for you! I’m going to torture you for ages and ages and ages and ages! And I’m going to send it to you mother and Batsy! And they’ll be so distraught about their poor little birdy, they’ll never be able to stop my plans!” Damian couldn’t stop the slight wheeze of laughter that escaped him.

“You think… My pain will enrage my mother? She… She will congratulate you. She will… thank you… for toughening me up.” Damian gasped, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. And that was when Batman finally showed up.

The following fight was a blur to Damian, as he struggled to stay conscious. Father and Joker exchanging verbal jabs and blows. Gunshots ringing out through the air. Panicked henchmen fleeing among crowds of panicked civilians. Grayson landing next to him, his horror clear on his face despite the mask.

“Robin… stay with me!”

“Robin, do NOT fall asleep!”

“Robin!”

“Robin, NO!”

Damian tried. He did. But the darkness – it was so warm, and inviting. It promised a release from the pain, the agony – a release from everything. And so, with terrified voices ringing through his mind, Damian slipped into the blissful darkness.


	2. 2

_“Do you think he’ll wake up soon?”_

_“Of course. Demon Brat’ll pull through, won’t ya?”_

_“Dami, I’m so sorry, I should have… should have found you sooner. Been there for you. I’m so, so, sorry. I just want you to know that when you wake up, we’re all here for you.”_

_“I’m going to kill that clown for you, Demon Brat. I’ll kill him, and string his insides all through the Batcave. Get better soon, alright?”_

_“How do you think he’ll react to, you know, his, uh… You know. His arm. He won’t be able to be Robin, he won’t be able to fight, he’ll need months of physical therapy.”_

_“He’s strong, Dick. He’ll be alright.”_

~*~

_Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…_

Damian groaned, and opened his eyes, wincing at the sudden bright light.

“Damian? Can you hear me?” Bruce asked hurriedly, hurrying to check his vitals.

“Father? How long was I out?” Damian asked hoarsely.

“You were out for TEN DAYS, Damian. Your heart stopped twice when we were trying to fix your arm.” Bruce said shakily, reaching to take Damian’s left hand.

“You fixed it though, right?” Damian asked insistently. Bruce looked away, unable to meet his gaze.

“The damage was extensive.” He started. Damian didn’t hear the rest of what Bruce said, as he tried to move his right arm. He felt nothing. He looked over to where his right arm was supposed to be, but all that was left was a stump wrapped in bandages. His breath began to speed up, as he ripped his left hand free of Bruce’s grip to touch the stump. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes. It was GONE! His arm – his arm was GONE! Now what would he do? He couldn’t fight! He couldn’t be Robin! And if he couldn’t fight, he was WORTHLESS!

“M-My arm! What happened to it?” He exclaimed, as he desperately tried to move it, even though he already knew. The truth was like a stone in his stomach. A hole in his chest. His arm was gone, permanently.

“We had to amputate it. It was that, or lose you. Damian, I am so, so sorry. I’m so sorry, Damian.” Bruce said, pulling his son into a hug.

“Father, I _need_ my arm! What am I supposed to do? Father…” Damian managed to say, before he started sobbing. Bruce wrapped his arms around Damian, holding him as he cried.

“I’m so sorry, Damian. I’m so sorry.” Bruce kept saying, over and over. Damian pulled back, feeling oddly numb.

“I wish you had lost me.” He whispered, looking at the ground.

“Damian-“ Bruce began, but Damian wasn’t hearing it.

“Leave me, Father. Please.”

~*~

The next few times Damian woke up, he was alone. He knew that there would be someone watching him through the security cameras, but he at least had the semblance of being alone. And then, finally, he woke up to find Dick sitting next to him.

“Grayson.” He stated softly, trying to sit up. Dick reached over hurriedly to help him, and Damian was forced to accept his help after it became clear he wouldn’t be able to sit up by himself.

“Heya, Dami. How you feeling?” Dick asked, looking concerned.

“Better. Bored, perhaps. I wish to be out of this bed.” He drawled, not meeting Dick’s gaze, but making sure to avoid looking at his stump.

“Well, if you’re willing to use a wheelchair, you can come upstairs.” Dick suggested.

“Tt. I am perfectly capable of walking by myself, Grayson.” Damian snapped, and began to get up. As soon as his weight was on his feet, the world seemed to spin, and only Dick’s fast reflexes stopped him from crashing to the ground.

“Not on those pain meds, Dami. Now, come on. Into the wheelchair for you.” Dick said, helping Damian into the wheelchair, and making sure his IV was still in properly. Wheeling the chair to the elevator, Dick tried to start up conversation. “So, there any movies you been looking forward to?”

Damian stayed silent the entire elevator ride, and up until Dick wheeled him into the main room, where Jason and Tim were fighting over the remote. As soon as they caught sight of Damian, though, they froze.

“Hey! Baby bird!” Jason said, as he hurried over, followed by Tim.

“Tt. It seems you all missed me.” Damian said shakily, doing his best to stay strong.

_“An Al Ghul never cries!”_

“You don’t have to pretend, Damian.” Tim said softly, seeing through Damian’s act easily. Damian knew the others could see through it as well, but he persisted. He had to stay strong.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, Drake.” He forced out. He could feel tears in his eyes, but stubbornly ignored them. “I am simply injured, is a-all.”

“Dami…” Dick whispered, his heart wrenching for the tiny boy.

“Tt. There is nothing to be sorry for, all of you. This is nobody’s fault but my own. I should not have gone out by myself.” He insisted.

“Damian! It wasn’t your fault, alright? It wasn’t your fault!” Jason blurted out, shocked. And at that, the wall Damian was holding up finally fell. He burst into sobs, as his three brothers crowded around him.

~*~

A month later, and Damian was off the pain medication and out of his wheelchair. He was still having quite a lot of trouble adjusting. When he woke up, he tried to act as if everything was normal. He went through his closet, and picked out a shirt. When he found he couldn’t unbutton it, he tried to force it over his head. Inevitably, it got stuck, and Damian growled in anger. When Jason opened his door to check on him, he had to force himself not to laugh as he helped the poor boy get dressed.

“You know we said we’d help you, right? You just need to ask, Baby Bat.” Jason murmured, but Damian shook his head stubbornly.

Stumbling downstairs in a sour mood, Damian went to make himself some cereal. Picking up the box, he held it down with his elbow while trying to open it with the same hand. It didn’t work, and he got angry. He stubbornly tried again, and the cereal box opened with an explosion of cereal. His feet crunching as he walked over the cereal covering the floor, Damian got out the stuff to make some toast. Spreading butter on the toast with some difficulty, he ate it quickly, not wanting to see anybody looking at him with pity. After eating, he went to brush his teeth, as usual. And as was the new normal, he couldn’t even do that on his own either.

“Hey, Damian? I heard you were having a tough time today.” Tim said, poking his head in the door. Damian sighed.

“I cannot make myself breakfast, or read a book, or brush my teeth, or even get dressed by myself! I cannot draw or write properly with my left hand! I cannot do anything properly anymore!” Damian exclaimed. “I just wish for things to go back to normal. Why did this happen to me, Drake?”

“I don’t know, Damian. But you know, the worst things happen to the best people, so you must be a pretty good person.” Tim tried.

“Bad things happened to the Joker, and he is the opposite of good. Your logic has gaping holes in it, Drake.” Damian protested. Tim sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“I don’t know why, okay, Damian? Nobody knows why these things happen. But there’s only one thing you can do now. And that’s learn to live with it. Maybe… Maybe this will help you, in some way you just can’t see right now. It’ll be alright, little bro.” Tim said, before leaving Damian to his thoughts.

“No, Drake. It won’t be okay.” Damian whispered to himself, before climbing into bed, still in his clothes.

~*~

_“Now, Damian, you will be sparring with your grandfather. He shall be using real weapons. You shall be unarmed. You must last at least one minute, or your life will not be spared. If you last ten minutes, you will gain the privilege of using the Lazarus Pit.” Talia announced. “Now… GO!”_

_Ra’s charged Damian, and it was all he could do to stay alive. He lasted a minute and ten seconds, and was covered in blood from various cuts._

_“Not good enough. We will repeat the exercise in 24 hours.” Ra’s stated coldly, before striding away. Talia slapped Damian, hard._

_“You bring me dishonor, you insufferable BRAT!” She shouted, before stalking away. Damian limped to his room to bandage his cuts and train. The next day, the same thing happened. Then the next day, the day after that, and the day after that. Some days, Damian would simply collapse from exhaustion after the fight. But soon, he began to improve. The first time he lasted ten minutes, he got to use the Lazarus Pit for the first time._

_The Lazarus Pit was pure bliss, as his cuts knitted back together, and his constant aches and pains faded away. Alas, it was not to be his for long. They upped his goal. Twelve minutes. Thirteen minutes. Fourteen minutes. Fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes. Half an hour. Forty-five minutes. An hour. An hour and a half. On, and on, and on, until he was expected to last three whole hours._

_On top of his ‘training’ with Ra’s, Damian also had to train on his own, keep up with his schoolwork, and find time to sleep. It was pure torture. He couldn’t possibly keep up with it all. Some nights, when he couldn’t sleep because of the pain from his injuries, he would look out his window, wondering if he would ever escape._

_He never escaped. No, he was rescued._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry, Dami! I may or may not have cried while writing this chapter - YOU HAVE NO PROOF!!!!
> 
> Anyways, comments and kudos make me write faster! Tell me what you think, or even just tell me how your day was in the comments!
> 
> Peace,  
> <3 Rex

**Author's Note:**

> So, hey! I'm rewriting this fic from my account on Wattpad (Withered_Kitten). Comments make me happy, so even just someone saying hi would make my day!!!!
> 
> Peace out, see you with the next chapter soon!  
> <3 Wither


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